Hay-rack.



H. S. WILLCOX.

HAY RACK. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 7, 1913.

1,0933304. Patnted Apr. 14,1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH c0, WASHINGTON, D. c.

H. S. WILLOOX.

HAY RAGK.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7, 1913. 1,093,304. Patented Apr. 14,1914.

3 SHBETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO.,\VASHINUTDN. D. c.

H. WILLCOX.

HAY RACK.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 7, 1913. 1,093,304. Patented Apr. 14, 1914.

I v a SHEETS-SHEET a.

\OLUMBIA vLANotirzAml C0,. WASHINGTON. u. L.

HARRY S. WILLCOX, OF OXFORD, NEW YORK.

HAY-RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 7, 1913.

Patented Apr. 1%, 191a. Serial No. 793,941.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, HARRY S. l/VILLGOX, acitizen of the United States, residing at Oxford, in the county ofOhenango and State of New York, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Hay-Racks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hay racks, and it has particular reference toan improved hay rack adapted to be used in connection with hay loaders.

In case of a hay rack cooperating with a hay loader for the purpose ofreceiving the load, it is customary to place an operator on the rack forthepurpose of distributing the load so that it may be placed evenly onthe rack.

The principal object of the present invention is to dispense with thishard and disagreeable work by producing a hay rack of simple andimproved construction having a movable platform which may receive aportion, approximately one-h alf of the load, after which said platformmay be moved lengthwise of the rack to provide an open space for thereception of the remainder of the load.

A further object of the invention is to produce a hay rack having amovable platform of a simple and improved construction which, havingreceived its load, may be moved lengthwise of the rack by power derivedfrom one of the transporting wheels.

A further object of the invention is to produce a device of thecharacter described, wherein the transmission of motion shall beautomatically suspended at the proper time when the loaded'platform hasreached the limit of its movement.

With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as thenature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in theimproved construction and novel arrangement and combination of partswhich will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferredform of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitationis necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited,but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of theclaims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of a hay rack constructedin accordance with the invention, and showing the movable platform inload receiving position. F 1g. 2 is a side elevation showing the loadedplatform transferred to the forward end of the rack. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal vertical sectional View taken on the line 33 in Fig. 1.Fig. 4 is a side elevation, showing the parts relatively arranged as inFig. 2. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan View. Fig. 6 is a transverse sectionalview taken on the line 6-6 in Fig. -5. Fig. 7 is a front elevation.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by likecharacters of reference.

The frame of the hay rack comprises the longitudinal sills 1 adjacent tothe inner faces of which longitudinal rails or track members 2 arearranged. The sills support the brackets 3 on which the sideboards a aremounted, said sideboards having the wheel guards 5. It will be observedthat the sideboards extend only approximately one-half the length of thesills at the rear end thereof to coincide with the length of the bottommember 6 which also extends only approximately one-half the length ofthe rack. The sills are supported on cross bars 7 which extend beyondthe sills and which carry struts S to assist in supporting the brackets3. The frame structure is supported on bolsters 9 mounted 011 the frontand rear axles 10, 11 having transporting wheels 12.

A movable platform B is provided, said platform being of a lengthapproximately equal to one-half of the rack, said platform comprising inits construction sills 15, a bottom member 16, sideboards 17 havingwheel guards 18, and a hay ladder 19 which is hingedly supportedadjacent to the front end of the platform. The platform'is provided withwheels 20 adapted to travel on the rails or track members 2. Thesideboards are provided directly beneath the wheel guards 18 with slots21 to accommodate the wheel guards 5 associated with the sideboards 4:when the platform is positioned at the rearward end of the rack. Therack, it will be observed, is provided at the rear end thereof with ahingedly supported hay ladder 22.

Supported for rotation in hearings on the undersides of the sills 1 is adrum shaft 23 carrying a clutch member 2 1 which by sliding the shaft inthe direction of its length may be placed in or out of engagement with aclutch collar 25 which is supported for rotation on the shaft, but whichis held against movement longitudinally by a portion of the bearingmember 26 which engages an annular groove 27 in said collar. The clutchcollar carries a sprocket 28 which is connected by a chain 29 with asprocket wheel 30 on one of the hind wheels 12 of the rack. It will benoted that when the clutch member is disengaged from the clutch collar24, the latter may rotate freely about the shaft, while by moving theshaft longitudinally to place the clutch members in engagement, theshaft will be rotated by the clutch. The shaft may be rotatedindependently of the clutch by means of a crank handle 31 which ispivoted on the shaft, but

. which may be connectedtherewith by a clutch device 32 so as to permitthe shaft to be rotated independently of the clutch formed by themembers 24, 25 when the rack is standing still.

For the purpose of moving the shaft 23 lengthwise to place the clutchmember 24 in or out of engagement with the clutch collar 25, a shippinglever is provided which consists of an angular lever 33 pivoted on theframe of the rack, one arm of said lever having a slot 34 which engagesan annular flange or collar 35 on the shaft 23, which latter, by rockingthe lever may be moved in the direct-ion ofits lengt A spring 36 engagesone arm of the shipping lever and serves to hold the clutch members 24,25 normally out of engagement. Pivotally connected with the other arm ofthe shipping lever is one end of a connecting rod 37 which extendsforwardly and the other end of which is connected with a hand lever 38fulcrumed on the forward end of the hay rack.

By pulling the hand lever 38 in a forward direction, the shipping leverwill be actuated against the tension of the spring 36 to slide the shaft23 in the direction of its length so as to place the clutch members24,25 in engagement. The hand lever, when pulled forwardly, may beretained in position by means of a stop member 39 extending from one armof a bell crank 40, the other arm of which has an upwardly extendingobstructing member 41 lying in the path of the movable platform B, whichlatter may be equipped with an engaging member or lip 42 to engage theobstructing member 41.

The platform B is connected with the drum shaft 23 by means of flexibleelements, such as cables 43, having one end connected with the undersideof the platform near the rear end of the latter, the other ends of saidcables being connected with and adapted to be wound on the drum shaft.For the purpose of maintaining the platform B in retracted position atthe rear end of the rack a stop member is provided consisting of a baror lever 44 which is pivoted on one side of the rack so as to be capableof lying in the path of and thus obstructing the forward movement of theplatform B when the latter is retracted. The'bar 44 has a downwardlyextending arm 45 provided with a terminal sleeve 46 through which theconnecting rod 3? is guided, said rod having an offset portion 47engaging the sleeve and constituting a cam which, by the forwardmovement of the connecting rod, will serve, to move the bar or stopmember 44 to a non-obstructing position with respect to the movableplatform. The latter is also provided with a pivoted gravity catch 48which when the platform reaches the forward limit of its movement willautomatically engage the front portion of the rack, thereby retainingthe platform against rearward or retracting movement.

In the operation of this device, the improved hay rack is so positionedwith relation to a hay loading device of conventional construction thatthe hay discharged from i such loader will be received on the platform Bwhen the latter is in retracted position. It will be observed that thehay will be received on the platform between the hay ladders 22 and 19,thus enabling a full load to be built up on the platform. WVhen theplatform has been fully loaded the operator by manipulating the handlever 38 actuates the shipping lever to move the drum shaft until theclutch members 24 and 25 are in engagement, the hand lever beingretained in position so as to hold the shipping lever against thetension of the spring 36 by means of the stop member 39 depending fromthe bell crank 40, which latter is thrown in engagement with the handlever by the action of a spring 49. The forward movement of theconnecting rod 37 serves to actuatethe bar or lever 45 which is movedout of the path of the platform so that-the latter will be free totravel in a forward direction, actuated by the cables 43 which are beingwound on the drum shaft 23. When the platform reaches the forward limitof its movement, the lip 42 will strike the obstructing member 41 of thebell crank 40 which is thus rocked against the tension ofthe spring 49,moving the stop member 39 out of the path of the hand lever 38, thusenabling the spring 36 to actuate the shipping lever to move the drumshaft longitudinally, thereby disengaging the clutch members 24, 25, andat the same time restoring the hand lever 38 to its initial position.At'the same time the gravity catch 48 will engage the forward portion ofa rack frame, thereby holding the platform B securely against'retractingmovement. The rack will now receive the material discharged from the hayloader on the rear end thereof between the hay ladder 22 and the loadwhich has already been placed on the platform, thus enabling the secondhalf of the load to be built up by the material discharged from theloader without necessity for shifting the load, as has been heretoforepractised.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. In a device of the wheel supported frame, a platform longitudinallymovable on said frame, means for forcibly moving the platform in onedirection including a drum shaft, flexible connecting members, a clutch,a spring actuated shipping lever, a hand lever, and a rod connecting thehand lever with the shipping lever, said rod having an offset, a stopmember to retain the platform at one end of its movement, said stopmember comprising a bar having an arm provided with a sleeve engagingthe offset portion of the connecting rod, a spring actuated bell crankhaving an offset that moves in the path of the hand lever when thelatter is operated to actuate the shipping lever, said bell crank havingalso an obstructing member, and a lip associated with the platform toengage the obclass described, a

structing member of the bell crank when the platform reaches the limitof its movement in one direction, thereby rocking the bell crank andreleasing the hand lever.

2. In a device of the class described, a frame, including longitudinalsills and track members, a platform supported for longitudinal movementon the track members, means for forcibly propelling the platform in. onedirection, said means including a transmission clutch, and means foractuating the same, obstructing means to retain the platform in loadreceiving position at one limit of its movement, and means forsimultaneously actuating the clutch device and releasing the obstructingmember, said means including a sleeve associated with the obstructingmember and a rod having an offset cam portion engaging the said sleeve.

In testimony whereof I afix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY S. YVILLCOX.

itnesses Loom E. ILLooX, ELsm G. TAFFT.

m Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

